H-1B $100,000 fee: USCIS begins approving petitions without payment
By Anika SharmaAI & Innovations Editor, Peepals Tech
Representative image: jackmac34 / Pixabay
USCIS has started approving some H-1B petitions without the $100,000 fee after courts blocked it, a US law firm said on October 25, 2026; an appeal is pending.
What Happened
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has started approving some H-1B petitions that fall under the $100,000 fee without making employers pay it, the US immigration law firm Meltzer Hellrung said in an update reported on October 25, 2026. The approvals follow court rulings that have blocked the fee from being enforced. The firm said approvals began arriving without a lawsuit being filed, but that processing is still uneven and several premium-processing cases remain stuck past their deadline.
Key Facts
- What changed: USCIS has begun approving some H-1B petitions covered by the $100,000 payment requirement without the payment, according to Meltzer Hellrung.
- Court ruling 1: on June 8, 2026, the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated the policy that put the $100,000 payment into effect, treating it as an unauthorised tax.
- Appeal: on July 24, 2026, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit refused the government's request to pause that order, so the fee cannot be enforced while the appeal continues.
- Court ruling 2: on September 30, 2026, a federal court in Northern California, in Global Nurse Force v. Trump, also vacated the fee policies and barred the agencies from enforcing them until they complete formal rulemaking.
- Conflicting ruling: in December 2025, the US District Court for the District of Columbia upheld the proclamation in a case brought by the US Chamber of Commerce, so the legal question is not settled.
- Delays: some petitions filed with premium processing have waited more than the 15 business days that service promises; the firm advised employers to follow up directly on such cases.
Why It Matters
The H-1B visa lets US companies hire skilled foreign workers, mostly in technology, for a set period. Indian IT firms and Indian professionals have long used the programme, so any change to the rules is followed closely by software engineers, students graduating from US universities, and Indian IT services firms.
The $100,000 payment, introduced by a presidential proclamation in September 2025 and extended on September 18, 2026, was aimed at certain H-1B workers entering from outside the United States. For a company weighing whether to hire a foreign engineer, a one-time charge of that size could decide the matter, especially for start-ups and smaller firms. While the fee was tied up in court, petitions covered by it stalled for weeks without a decision.
The approvals now arriving are the first practical sign that the court orders are being applied to real cases. For a person waiting on a petition, an approval without the payment means the job offer can move ahead. For employers, it lowers the cost of hiring from abroad, at least for now.
The situation is not final. The government has appealed, one federal court in Washington, DC, reached the opposite conclusion in 2025, and the agencies could try to bring the fee back through formal rulemaking. Employers and workers with pending cases are being told to check their status with a lawyer rather than assume the fee is gone for good.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| September 2025 | Proclamation creates the $100,000 H-1B payment |
| June 8, 2026 | Massachusetts court vacates the fee policy |
| July 24, 2026 | Appeals court refuses to pause that order |
| September 30, 2026 | California court vacates the policies again |
| October 25, 2026 | Law firm reports approvals without the fee |
Impact
Short-term: Some employers with pending H-1B petitions are receiving approvals without paying $100,000, which lets job offers to foreign tech workers, including Indians, go ahead. Others are still waiting, especially premium-processing cases past the 15-business-day mark.
Long-term: The outcome of the government's appeal, and any new rulemaking, will decide whether the fee returns. Until then, companies planning to hire from abroad face uncertainty, which may affect how many US tech jobs are offered to overseas candidates.
Who is affected: Indian software engineers and other skilled workers seeking US jobs, Indian students finishing degrees in the US, US employers that sponsor H-1B workers, and Indian IT services firms with US operations.
Key Takeaway
USCIS has begun approving some H-1B petitions without the $100,000 fee after courts blocked its enforcement, but the fee's future depends on a pending appeal.
Questions and Answers
Is the $100,000 H-1B fee still being charged?
Not at present for the cases now being approved. Courts in Massachusetts and California vacated the policy behind the fee, and an appeals court refused to pause the Massachusetts order, so USCIS has started approving some petitions without the payment, according to the law firm Meltzer Hellrung. The government's appeal is still pending.
What does this mean for Indian tech workers?
Indian professionals waiting on an H-1B petition covered by the fee may now get an approval without their employer paying $100,000, which makes it easier for US companies to go ahead with those hires.
My premium-processing H-1B case is past 15 business days. What should I do?
The law firm advises that petitions filed with premium processing and pending beyond 15 business days may need direct follow-up with USCIS. Speak to your employer's immigration lawyer before taking any step.
Could the fee come back?
Yes. The government has appealed, a 2025 Washington, DC, ruling upheld the proclamation, and the California order allows the agencies to bring the policy back through formal rulemaking.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
By Anika Sharma, AI & Innovations EditorCovers AI & Innovation and more for Peepals Tech. All stories by Anika Sharma
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Anika Sharma is a pen name of the Peepals Global Editorial Team, which researches, fact-checks and publishes every story. The portrait is an illustration.
